Silent Voice
by HalfBrachenDemon
Summary: Mosskit was born without a voice, and the only cat she can really communicate with is her protective brother, Duckkit. They live in a marsh-dwelling clan called CavernClan. But even their closest family members may not truly accept the silent Mosskit. . .
1. Welcome to CavernClan

**Yup, new story. Little muse is a bit . . . tied up at the moment about _Storm of WindClan_, and me and a friend were talking about Warriors . . . last year at some point, and this popped into my head when I was thinking about that nice talk. It might have actually been earlier this year . . . I dunno. This is mostly because I feel like I work better when I have more control over what's going on, you know? I want to make my own territory, craft my own strengths, and eat my own prey.**

**Also: I know I re-use names. That doesn't mean it's the same character. It's a different story completely, and if I re-use a name, I re-use a name. Y'know, some of these are friend's warrior names, and I like to try to toss some real-life stuff in. Kay? **

**Now, without further ado . . .**

**Welcome to CavernClan**

_**Leader:**_

_**Darkstar:**_

_**Black tom-cat; dark gray around eyes; blue eyes**_

_**Deputy:**_

_**Thistleprick:**_

_**Spiky-furred gray tom; brown on paws and back; amber eyes; father of Logpaw, Splashpaw, and Batpaw**_

_**Medicine Cat:**_

_**Oakleaf:**_

_**Light brown she-cat; darker stripes; green eyes**_

_**Medicine Cat Apprentice:**_

_**Logpaw:**_

_**Muddy brown she-cat; lighter spot on chest; amber eyes**_

_**Warriors:**_

_**Goosetalon:**_

_**Stone gray tom-cat; white speckled on his back; green eyes; father of Mosskit, Leopardkit, and Duckkit**_

_**Rockclaw:**_

_**Smokey gray she-cat; dark brown spot on her back; amber eyes; mother of Logpaw, Splashpaw and Batpaw**_

_**Frogleap:**_

_**Brown tom-cat; lighter paws; green eyes**_

_**Weaseltail:**_

_**Brown and white tom-cat; gray around muzzle, particularly long tail; amber eyes;**_

_**Apprentices:**_

_**Splashpaw:**_

_**Dark brown tom-cat; white stripe down his back; amber eyes**_

_**Batpaw:**_

_**Pale gray she-cat; large, dark ears; blue eyes**_

_**Queens:**_

_**Mudfoot:**_

_**White she-cat; brown paws; blue eyes; mother of Mosskit, Leopardkit, and Duckkit**_

_**Kits:**_

_**Mosskit: **_

_**Black she-cat; white speckled on her back, white marks above her eyes, white front paws, white tail tip; fluffy fur; green eyes**_

_**Leopardkit:**_

_**Ginger she-cat; dark brown spots on her shoulders, back, leg, tail, tail-tip, eyes, and left ear, dark brown toes; green eyes**_

_**Duckkit:**_

_**Fluffy dark brown tom-cat; short tail; dark amber eyes**_

_**Elders:**_

_**Sharpeyes:**_

_**Dark gray she-cat; light gray paws; yellow eyes**_

_**Non-clan cats:**_

_**Puk:**_

_**loner in twolegplace; white with dark paws; green eyes; father of Justin**_

_**Cali:**_

_**kittypet; light brown with a paler stomach; green eyes; mother of Justin**_

_**Justin:**_

_**kittypet; white with dark paws; green eyes**_

_Chapter I_

Soft paw-steps echoed through the cave, dimly lit via tiny holes in the roof (holes that were covered with sticks and leaves to let light through, but keep out rain, which was mildly common in this clan's territory). The she-cat that was causing it, who was light brown, with darker brown stripes, carried herbs and leaves in her mouth. She walked through the caves, down a sloping entrance tunnel with a floor paved with large, flat rocks, but still with cracks beneath to keep rain from getting too far into the cave. She came to a place where the floor continued to slope, then come back up. The entire floor of this area was dirt and moss to soak up rain, and across it was a long, flat log. She crossed it quickly, never doubting it's sturdiness. After crossing it, the ground smoothed out, with a long cavern. Caves branched out from it, with two caves on her right, two on her left, and a large, open area straight in front of her. The entire roof was dotted almost randomly with the covered holes, so she could see somewhat clearly. Generations of cats living in this environment had strengthened their eyes to the dim light, which also assisted. She slipped into the second cave on the right, and came upon three cats. The first, a white she-cat with brown paws, was round with kits and breathing heavily. Her mate was at her head, doing his best to be comforting. He was stone gray, speckled with white on his back. And at the mother's stomach was the brown she-cat's own apprentice, trying to help with the kits. She turned, giving the brown she-cat a passing glance.

"Everything's been fine while you've been off, Oakleaf," the muddy brown apprentice said quietly. "The kits are coming soon."

"Good." Oakleaf responded quickly, moving to assist the apprentice. "Have any come yet, Logpaw?"

"The first is on it's way." Logpaw was swift in her responses, focused well on the task. "What herbs did you bring?"

"Nothing important; just precautions." Logpaw nodded. "Mudfoot, the first is almost out."

The white she-cat nodded, closing her eyes and focusing on the emerging kit. Oakleaf took it and set to licking. "Goosetalon, you better take that." Logpaw decided, already helping the second kit emerge.

"Mhm." Goosetalon quickly agreed, grabbing the kit. It was a dark brown tom, which quickly set off to mewling.

"The second one is out." Oakleaf handed the second, an orange and brown patched she-cat, to Logpaw. It too, began to mew.

Oakleaf smiled. "They're as loud as you were, Mudfoot."

"That's good, isn't it?" Mudfoot strained out.

Oakleaf nodded. "The last is almost out." And out it came. It was a speckled black she-kit, with some white marks. Oakleaf licked at it quickly, warming it up. The other kits ceased their squealing as they latched onto their mother, suckling for milk. Oakleaf froze; the cave had fallen silent.

"Oakleaf, is the last one suckling?" Mudfoot craned her neck to see.

Oakleaf let out a steady breath. "No, Mudfoot. The last kit is silent."

Goosetalon's head flew upwards. "It's not . . . ?"

Oakleaf shook her head. "No, she's alive. Perhaps she's just not a mewling kit; there have been some. We can wait and see if she'll speak when she's older." Oakleaf picked up her herbs and nodded to Mudfoot and Goosetalon, who were looking down at the kits fondly, if not worriedly.

"What will you name them?" Logpaw had been calm during the birthing, but she was young herself and was eager and curious as to the kits.

Goosetalon looked down at the dark tom, who's fur was starting to fluff out. "How about Duckkit?"

Mudfoot nodded. "And Leopardkit, for the orange and brown one."

Logpaw looked at them. Duckkit was already become a hassle; squirming over his sisters to get to the milk. Even when angered by her sibling, the black speckled kit was silent.

"Mosskit." Mudfoot finally decided on the name for the final kit. Goosetalon nodded.

Logpaw looked at them one more time curiously, then nodded to the new parents and slowly walked out.

_Three Moons Later_

"Duckkit, dear, don't tease Mosskit like that." Mudfoot slowly spread the two apart. Mosskit's eyes blazed with fury, but she didn't speak.

"Well, I WOULDN'T tease her if she'd just talk to me sometimes!" Duckkit protested loudly.

"Shush!" Mudfoot quieted the kit. "You're going to wake Leopardkit! And Mosskit would reply if she could, you know that! Now get along or I'll make you come back in!" Mosskit, Mudfoot, and Duckkit were outside in the sun. In their clan's rainy terrain, a good day of sunlight was not to be wasted trapped in the cave. Leopardkit was using it to take a nice nap on one of the many, abundant stones, while Mosskit and Duckkit were playing. While to the rest of the world, Mosskit and Leopardkit seemed like the best of friends, she was much closer to Duckkit. Despite his constant teasing, she still spent more time with him and communicated with him more then others.

Mosskit stuck her tongue out playfully at her brother and dashed away. "Hey!" Duckkit yowled and dashed after her. Despite Mosskit's lack of voice, she was faster then the other two and could jump and climb quicker then even the apprentices. As she bounded away from Duckkit, gaining more ground each leap, a flash of lightning stuck through the sky. She skidded to a halt, Duckkit repeating the motion.

"Alright kits, in we go." Mudfoot gently picked up Leopardkit, turning and going down into the tunnel. Duckkit turned back to Mosskit quickly.

"Wanna play on the crossing log?" Mosskit nodded, hurrying into the cave.

"I bet I'll get there first!" Duckkit yowled cockily as he dashed, but quick as he was, he couldn't match Mosskit as she bounded over his head and reached the log swiftly before him.

"Mmmfm!" Mudfoot scolded him through Leopardkit, treading slowly and carefully as she headed back to the nursery.

Duckkit watched her closely, waiting until she was gone. He rushed to Mosskit. "Let's go back outside!" She looked at him swiftly with horror etched on her face. "No worries, we'll be back before Mudfoot notices! It'll be done in a snap!" He grinned encouragingly, and she slowly stood up, following him out of the cavern.

**Okay, first chapter, whatcha think? Good? Bad? Need changes? Open to suggestions! **

**Also: Sorry if the birth scene sucks. I'm not good with birth scenes.  
**


	2. The Fence

**Hai! I'm back! I just now noticed that I might not have made it clear, but Justin the kittypet is a kit, just a little bit older then our favorite triplets (Mosskit, Duckkit, and Leopardkit). Just to say.**

**Thanks for the lovely reviews from Anidori-Isilee and katzsoa!**

_Chapter 2_

"Mosskit! This way! Quick!" Duckkit scrambled beneath a tree root, Mosskit close behind. They both knew she could overcome him should the desire take her, but she was content to let him lead her to whatever adventure he had in mind. He led them around trees and rocks, wading through the many small streams that ran through the territory. Mosskit looked up; the sun had disappeared behind clouds; it was impossible to tell how long it had been since they left.

"Mosskit! Check this out!" Duckkit had stumbled upon . . . something. It was tall and brown, spiked at the top. "What is it?" Duckkit voiced the question that had plagued both their minds.

"You've never seen a fence before?" They both whirled around; a kit was there, looking at them.

Mosskit shook her head as Duckkit replied. "No. Who're you?" The kit was white, with dark paws.

"M'name's Justin. Who're you?"

"I'm Duckkit and this is my sister, Mosskit." Duckkit nodded to his sibling white subconsciously stepping in front of her.

"Huh. Where're you from?" Justin took a step towards them, seemingly unafraid of his new acquaintances.

"We're from CavernClan! The greatest clan there is!" Duckkit declared this proudly, puffing out his chest. Mosskit nodded fiercely behind him.

"Why don't you talk?" Justin stepped past Duckkit easily; Justin was a bit larger then Mosskit brother. Mosskit opened and closed her mouth, pinning her ears against her head.

"She can't!" Duckkit moved to leap between them again, standing up and coiling his muscles.

"You can't talk?" Justin looked to Mosskit for confirmation, and she nodded. "Oh. Must be hard to make friends . . ." Mosskit slightly narrowed her eyes, cocking her head to one side. "Do you not have friends in your clan?"

"We're a clan." Duckkit walked over and sat next to Mosskit, deciding that Justin wasn't a horrible threat. "We're family."

"Oh." Justin was quiet for a moment, contemplating this. "Then I can be your first friend!" He grinned largely and curled his tail around his feet, evidently proud of himself for thinking of the idea.

"Cool!" Duckkit may have been wary of Justin, but he was a kit, and every kit is eager for a new friend.

So the kits played for a while by the fence, wrestling and chasing each other. At one point Mosskit found a small down feather, and the boys chased her for it, but she was fast, and quick, and despite Justin's longer legs, she easily kept ahead of them both.

"Justin dear!" The three stopped their chase to hear the voice. "Time to eat!"

Justin shyly pinned back his ears and sat back. "That's Cali, my mother. Will you be here tomorrow?" Mosskit nodded eagerly, and Duckkit followed suit. "Great!" Justin smiled hugely at them. "Coming Cali!" He yowled. He waved his tail at the siblings and was quickly over the fence.

"We should head home." Duckkit started setting off away from the fence, and he and Mosskit smelled their way back from their previous path. On the way home, they lost the trail several times, but overall managed to catch it again. They dashed into the cave and listened for their mother.

"Mudfoot?" Duckkit tentatively called out into the darkness.

"Duckkit?" Mudfoot trotted toward them. "I hope you and Mosskit had fun, you missed a meal. Come in when I call you, or you won't get to eat. Now come on, your sister is waiting."

Duckkit and Mosskit sighed with relief; Mudfoot hadn't caught their absence. They followed their mother in, eager for tomorrow to come.

**Okay, end of chapter two. Now, I know what some of you are thinking. "What! How could Mudfoot not notice that two of her kits are missing!" Well, the thing is, that if you left your kid alone in the living room of your house near the door when it was dark and rainy outside, would you really think that they'd run off? And Mudfoot knows what Duckkit is like; if she had peeked in, she had figured that they were hiding or something. She didn't figure he was adventurous enough to actually run off. And Leopardkit is a bit feminine; she'd want to stay in the nursery and groom with her mom. Plus, I couldn't have them being watched over for the rest of the story! They have to go see Justin next chapter! :D **

**PS: Sorry if this chapter is kinda short; I'm trying to make them as long as I can. -_- Probably failing.**


	3. Caveroot

**Hgai again! I noticed another thing I forgot in my clan list: mentors! So, here it is:**

**Logpaw – Oakleaf (duh)**

**Batpaw - Goosetalon**

**Splashpaw – Weaseltail**

**So, if you were curious, there ya go! **

**Thanks for the lovely review from Anidori-Isilee!  
**

_Chapter 3_

Mosskit awoke early, jabbing Duckkit awake so that he could rouse Mudfoot.

"Mudfoot?" Duckkit called quietly.

"Mmhm?"

"Me and Mosskit are gonna go play."

"Mmhm."

And with that, the two dashed out of the nursery, across the log, and towards the Fence. They raced there, Mosskit humoring Duckkit and letting him take the lead. They reached the Fence in breakneck time and eagerly awaited Justin's arrival.

"Hello, do I know you?" They both whirled around at the voice.

"J-Justin?" Duckkit stammered out the name. The cat before them looked like their friend; white fur, dark paws, the same green eyes. But he was older; as old as Mudfoot if not more so!

"Close, I suppose. My name is Puk. I'm Justin's father. Do you know my son then?" Duckkit lost his voice; the cat was holding himself proudly and dangerously, and there was an air about him as though he was the most powerful thing there was.

Duckkit nodded dumbly; Mosskit doing the same. The white cat narrowed his eyes. "I suppose you're here to see him." Mosskit nodded again; Duckkit followed a second after.

Puk sighed tiredly, tilting his head down. His eyes traveled back up to them, shining with an unnameable emotion. "Fair enough. I'll fetch him for you." The white cat leaped up the fence and a moment later Justin leaped down.

"Duckkit! Mosskit!" He smiled widely. "I almost thought you weren't going to come! Follow me; I have something I want to show you." He started to run along the fence. Mosskit followed close behind; Duckkit a mouselength behind them. Justin veered off away from it, then a moment later, arrived at a large tree. He turned and grinned at his companions, then dove into a small hollow that was placed between two of the roots. Duckkit and Mosskit hesitated, then followed.

Inside was a decently large hollow that could hold ten adult cats with some room to spare. There was water dripping into a small pool on one side, on another was three dips in the ground filled with soft, fluffy moss. "You like? I found it yesterday after we played, and I thought this could be our spot!"

Mosskit smiled, and Duckkit grinned, and they named the tree Caveroot, and it became their place. They would tussle and hide in the roots above, rest and chat (or, listen in Mosskit's case) in the cave below, and they set aside a corner for nice rocks and feathers they found to keep as toys. They said sad goodbyes at the ends of days, and cheerful hellos at the beginnings, and that is how it stayed, peaceful and playful for one happy, blissful moon.

**Hey! Sorry this chapter is kinda short, but something's about to happen, and I wanted to save it for the next chapter.**


	4. Changing Times

**Hgai! Hey, I was thinking something. You know, the clan list thing is going to change every so often, there's no denying it. So I was thinking that maybe I could do it again every five chapters or so, maybe every ten if I can keep with the story that long, just so that everyone has something to look at so you aren't going back and trying to figure something out on an outdated list. Tell me whatcha think!**

**Thanks for the lovely reviews from Anidori-Isilee, Purechaos4u, and katzsoa!  
**

_Chapter 4_

"Mosskit? Duckkit? I need to have a word with you and Leopardkit." Duckkit and Mosskit leaped across the log. They had had a good day with Justin, and had arrived home somewhat early. His twolegs' kits had wanted to show him to the neighbors.

"Yes Mudfoot?" Duckkit went to sit beside Leopardkit. Leopardkit had been spending her time in the nursery or with Sharpeyes; she had wanted to spend her free time listening to the stories of battles and hard leaf-bares.

"You know you will apprentices in a moon," Mudfoot began. "And when that happens you won't be able to spend your days playing. Mosskit, Duckkit, are you ready for that? You'll have to wake up early and spend the day working. No more free time, you won't be kits anymore." Duckkit and Mosskit nodded and agreed but only half-listened to the speech.

_No more free-time? Will I not see Justin anymore? _The thought ripped Mosskit's heart. Mudfoot finished her talk and sent them off. Leopardkit followed her mother while Duckkit and Mosskit went back to the log.

"So I hear you two just got the new apprentice talk." They turned to see Batpaw and Splashpaw sitting beside one end, smiling in a friendly way. Batpaw continued, "You know, I bet we'll be warriors before you finish your training. I'd love to train one of you, if I could." Mosskit smiled. She'd like to be trained by Batpaw. The large eared apprentice had something very important in common with Mosskit: both were good listeners, and neither was easily accepted.

"That'd be cool." Duckkit had set his soul on being trained by Thistleprick, Batpaw and Splashpaw's father, who was also the clan's deputy.

"Yeah, well, we'll see. Later fellas," Splashpaw said as he left the two kits to their playing.

Batpaw stayed behind, for one reason or another. "Well, do you two need anything?"

Duckkit opened his mouth to refuse, before asking a question with an answer that would haunt him for moons to come. " . . . what's it like to be an apprentice?"

Batpaw was quiet for a moment, her large ears going back against her head as she looked upward in contemplation. "It's . . . rewarding, I suppose. It was a shock to have such little free time all of the sudden. Goosetalon was very pushy about making sure things get done, and I was always to tired to move at the end of the day. Now that I've gotten used to it, it's not quite so hard, but it's still pretty rough. Practically no time to myself anymore. I once asked him if this is what being a warrior is like, though."

Mosskit's eyes opened with interest, and she nodded for Batpaw to continue.

"It's not that far off, although us warriors do get a bit more time to ourselves." All three young cats whirled around to see the speckled tom. "But not a whole lot. After all, the clan as a whole is much more important than ourselves as individuals."

"Hi Goosetalon." Duckkit murmured as Mosskit waved her tail.

"Hello kits, how are things?" He smiled warmly.

"Do you need me for anything?" Batpaw asked quickly.

Goosetalon nodded. "I figure I can trust you to gather moss on your own?"

Batpaw nodded and turned to head out. "Oh, wait a moment! Would you mind taking Mosskit with you? I think it'd do her good to get out of the cave once in a while." Mosskit ducked her head with shame._ If only you knew . . ._

"What about me?" Duckkit yowled with protest. "Well, I'm going to teach you a fighting move!" Goosetalon eagerly knocked his son over, and fell down onto his stomach when Duckkit leaped up to retaliate.

Mosskit smiled at the exchange when a voice surfaced in her ear. "Let's leave the toms to their foolery, shall we?" Mosskit smiled and nodded, quickly following the apprentice.

As they reached out, Batpaw trotted along, Mosskit keeping well pace. "Wow, you're pretty fast for your age." Batpaw smiled warmly.

Mosskit nodded absentmindedly.

"Something wrong?" Batpaw slowed and Mosskit quickly shook her head, waving her tail at a tree with a good coat of moss.

They hurried over after Batpaw's quick comment of "Good eye!"

Mosskit watched Batpaw carefully collect the moss before asking for assistance in carrying it back. Mosskit grabbed as much as she could carry and they both headed back.

Goosetalon greeted Batpaw at the entrance and quickly took up Mosskit's share of the moss, leaving her alone with her equally worn out brother.

Duckkit and Mosskit sat in silence for a moment, simply waiting for something to happen, until Duckkit voiced the thought plaguing their minds.

"Can we play with Justin anymore?"

**OoooOOoooOOoooOOooo * wiggles fingers * DRAMA! So, yeah, I'm debating on what to do with this. See, I'm trying to catalog Mosskit's entire, unspeaking life. So, here's what could happen: She and Duckkit could sneak out at night and try not to get caught, or they could not see Justin again until they become warriors. D: But if they sneak out at night, they'll have to be sneaky, and they'll have to miss a night of sleep. But if they don't, then it'll be a while before we see Justin again, and I really like him. See, with most stuff I've seen when that happens, we skip ahead to the part where we see them again, but we can't with this . . . I suppose we could do half the chapter Mosskit and Duckkit and half the chapter Justin . . . huh. So many possibilities. Tell me whatcha think! :D**


	5. The First of Many

**Hgai from me! So, not much to say up here. **

**Thanks for the lovely reviews from Anidori-Isilee, katzsoa, and Purechaos4u!  
**

_Chapter 5_

"Mosskit! Duckkit! Come on, there's going to be a meeting!" Leopardkit prodded her siblings awake.

"Yeah, yeah, we're coming." Duckkit stood up and yawned, Mosskit simply rolling onto her stomach before dragging herself to her feet.

Kits weren't usually at the Clan meetings, but that doesn't mean they don't manage to sneak into the back. They slid behind the furthermost back cats (Mudfoot, Rockclaw, and Frogleap) and perked their ears to hear what Darkstar was calling from the announcement rock.

"We are here to see two very well off apprentices become warriors. Batpaw, would you com here?" Mosskit smiled to herself as Batpaw walked up to stand beside Darkstar. She had hoped Batpaw would become a warrior before her sixth moon; despite the fact that the she-cat was young, she was a talented apprentice. She learned quickly and would make a good mentor. _She could even make a good deputy someday. _Mosskit smiled at that thought. She and Batpaw had been close friends (though not near as close as Mosskit was to her brother) for as long as either could remember. Batpaw would be a good leader; a dream that Mosskit could never have, at least not with reason. She wouldn't be able to tell anyone what was happening; the best she could hope for was a respectable warrior.

"Batpaw, CavernClan honors your intelligence and patience. From here on out, you shall be known as Batears." Darkstar rested his muzzle on Batears's head and she left to walk down to sit beside Goosetalon, who was glowing with pride.

"Splashpaw?" The dark apprentice walked up to where Batears had been sitting just moments before. "Splashpaw, CavernClan honors your bravery and attentiveness. From here on out, you shall be known as Splashpuddle." Darkstar repeated his motion to the new warrior and the meeting was adjourned. The three kits sat to the side to wait for the new warriors.

"Congratulations!" Leopardkit and Duckkit said at the same time. Mosskit nodded swiftly.

"Thanks you two!" Splashpuddle spoke swiftly and hurried off; Weaseltail and Frogleap were inviting him on his first patrol as a warrior.

"Yeah, thanks guys! Check it out _Mosspaw_, I might get to be your mentor after all!" Batears winked at the silent kit before hurrying to join her brother.

"Well well, look at them." Mosskit turned with her siblings. "New names, new rank. Let's hope their still the same cats at the end of the day." Logpaw smiled at the apprentices, who in turn grinned at the quiet joke.

"Makes me wonder, Logpaw. Will you not get your new name until Oakleaf passes on?" Leopardkit may have been a bit quieter then her siblings, but she was thoughtful as well and could ask good questions when she wanted to. _Probably gets from all the stories she listens to, _Mosskit thought.

"No. Oakleaf will give it to me when she feels I've learned all I could from her. It's a lot like becoming a warrior really; learn all you can then get a new name. The only difference is that there's not quite so many medicine cats." Logpaw smiled again; she didn't have the same sense of humor as her siblings, but she was quietly funny when you got used to it. It was somewhat hard to tell if she were joking or not, for all she displayed to tell the two apart was a mysterious smile.

"Well that's cool." Duckkit mumbled. "Well, Mosskit, wanna come play at the log?" Mosskit grinned and the two dashed off. They had mentioned Batears and Splashpuddle (paw at the time) to Justin before, and had mentioned that they might miss a day due to their warrior ceremony. So when they peeked their head out and it was dark enough to be considered nighttime, they just tussled by the log until Mudfoot called them in.

It wasn't like the bad news was urgent. They still had a moon with their friend.

**Well, there's Chapter 4 for ya. Yup, a chapter without Justin. :( You get why they're putting off talking to him, right? You know how kids are; it doesn't matter how important the bad news is-if they can put it off THEY WILL PUT IT OFF. And when Batears called Mosskit Mosspaw it was joking-ish, pointing out how close Mosskit is to being called that (she didn't know that to Mosskit it's BAD news :) Well, hope you liked! **

**Also: Comments on the Warrior Ceremony- CavernClan is pretty loose about that stuff; they don't necessarily have their warriors be quiet all night when they become warriors. The new warriors are still sorta apprentice-ish for the first moon or so, and if they want to waste it being immature, then they'll be punished by the senior warriors. And I forget if they say StarClan in it or not, but CavernClan isn't quite that religious. I mean, sure, they believe in StarClan, and medicine cats get signs from them and stuff, but they're a pretty carefree group. They aren't really that close to any big twoleg roads or towns (Justin lives on the outskirts of a small town. Nothing huge) and their territory is in a marsh protected by the state (not that they know that; they just know twolegs don't come in there) so StarClan isn't quite as important to them as it is to the four main clans. They do their great big we-love-StarClan speeches when cats die (mostly from old age and occasionally disease-deaths from injuries are incredibly uncommon). Just to clear that stuff up.**


	6. I'd Say It If I Could

**Hgai again!  
Thanks for the lovely reviews from Anidori-Isilee and katzsoa!**

**And, to katzsoa: No, it's just CavernClan; which is another thing on why their so relaxed about StarClan: there's no one to offend.**

_Chapter 6_

"Mosskit! Duckkit!" Justin bounded toward them, a smile on his face. "It's good to see you! I figured yesterday it was Batpaw and Splashpaw's warrior ceremony, right? How'd it go? Do they have new names?" Mosskit smiled; Justin had learned as much as he could from the two young kits about Clan life.

The siblings nodded. "Batears and Splashpuddle now. I know Mosskit here is hopin' for Batears as a mentor." Duckkit grinned cockily as Mosskit ducked her head.

Justin just smiled. "How about you and your other sister, Duckkit? Anyone in particular?"

Duckkit licked a bit of dirt out of his chest fur. "Oh, no one in particular . . ." Mosskit shoved his shoulder, almost knocking him over. She gave him a playful glare, urging him to reveal the truth.

"Ah, well, maybe Thistleprick, if he's not too busy."

"The deputy, right? Next in line for leader?" Mosskit grinned again and nodded. "Awesome! So, how long is it until you become apprentices? Just another moon, right?" He had such a happy, encouraging smile on his face. Mosskit could feel her throat tightening, but she managed to nod.

"And then you're gonna get new names? Wow, I'll never get used to that." He shook his head with a laugh. "I was born Justin and I'll stay Justin, if no one minds."

Duckkit chuckled. "Aw, we'll make a clan-er out of you yet!" Mosskit giggled-or would've, if she could. Her mouth was open in a way that would have suggested giggling.

"So! I know I can't wait for you two to get there. Will you teach me the stuff you learn?" A hopeful smile, another slash through Mosskit's chest.

"See, Justin, that's the thing. We . . . won't be able to see you so much anymore." Duckkit ducked his head; Mosskit felt a tear slide down her cheek.

"What?" She looked up; shock and horror were written across his face. "W-Why not? Did I do something? Did I say something?"

Mosskit shook her head. "It's just, we won't be able to balance out coming and seeing you with training to become a warrior. I mean, when we come by here we might see you sometimes, and we'll always be friends y'know, it's just that the clan needs us to be trained." Mosskit looked at Duckkit; he was doing his best to be calm for Justin's sake, but she knew he wouldn't last as long as he pretended to be able to.

Justin nodded, doing his best to understand. "Yeah. I get it. Look, Cali wants me back for the twoleg kits today. See you guys later." And without even looking back, he turned and leaped the fence.

"Come on Mosskit. We should go home too." She turned, wanting more than anything to follow Justin, but she knew that Duckkit was right. He didn't even stop to listen. We still have a moon with him.

She trotted behind Duckkit until they reached home. She lazily climbed onto the log, Duckkit a step ahead of her, and the two headed back to the nursery.

"Where've you two been?" Leopardkit sent them a cynical look.

Mosskit ignored her, trotted to her nest and curling up, her tail over her nose.

"What's up with her?"

Duckkit did the same as his silent sister, quickly mumbling "Nothing. Just tired," as an excuse.

**Welp, there's another chapter. Eugh, this one's short. I've been trying to make them last at least a page on the typy thingy I use, but sometimes I fail. :( Poor Justin. Poor Duckkit. Poor Mosskit. Well, I'm thinking the next chapter will be a Justin chapter, and for the rest of the story it'll be switching between Justin and the kits (apprentices soon).**


	7. Different Kind Of Family

**Hgai once more! With nothing to say: once more!**

**Well, I'll say something now that I'm thinking about it. And I am going to say something life changing that is filled with great knowledge and wisdom and all that stuff. And it's gonna change your life forever. And you'll always love me for saying it and everybody will always want me to kiss babies and go say it on TV and—aw, crud, what was I gonna say . . .**

**Thanks for the lovely reviews from Anidori-Isilee and Echosong1999!**

_Chapter 7_

"Justin, are you alright?" Cali was questioning her son as he trotted through the cat door.

"Fine Cali. Just need a bit of space." He trotted to his food dish—full of tasteless crunchy pebbles. He had been looking forward to learning hunting tricks from Duckkit and Mosskit.

He couldn't believe it. They were his friends. How could they just ditch him? Is that what clans taught? That lives and trusts and bonds were expendable?

"Hey Justin, how's it goin' buddy? Huh, how's it goin'?" He could hear the soft speaking of the older twoleg kit as it reached down to scratch his ears.

He had a decent family. There were two adult twolegs and two kits, plus his mother, him, and a dog that lived outside. He liked his family, he really did, but his new friends were always a good break from them. He supposed he couldn't learn anything from the clan cats that he couldn't learn from Puk, his father, a loner. But Puk was never around, and when he was, he did little more then nod at his kit and give Cali a quick lick on the head.

He let out a mrow and the kit wandered off. He slipped outside to see the dog. The family dog was big and dark colored, with floppy ears and a forever wagging tail. He did live outside, on a chain with a smaller twoleg nest to sleep in, but the kits would often come out and play and romp and tie him to their arms and walk around with him.

He stopped as the dog saw him and ran at him. It fell to its front legs as it sniffed at him; straining the chain to get closer. Justin calmly walked around it, making sure to never get close enough for the dog to reach him.

He trotted along the flat, hard path that the twolegs drove their monsters across. He knew right where he wanted to go.

After a few nests, he turned with the road as it swerved into a darker place. He walked along, following the path, until he came to a brown box that water dripped through.

" . . . Fang?" He called softly into the box. After a moment, a skeleton gray cat with short, ratty fur that hugged his body like a second skin.  
"Wutcha want, mousy?" He called everyone mousy, as though he was stronger or larger then them. He insisted to everyone that in his hay-day he was the most feared creature in twolegplace, but most cats shook their heads behind his back. He was old, though, and knew a lot of interesting things if you could keep him focused.

"Have you ever heard of a group of cats living in the caves under the marsh?" Justin asked him quickly, making sure to be as specific as possible without limiting the range of answers Fang could give him; if he were too specific, Fang would dismiss it as some old rat's ramblings, but if he were too wide, Fang would veer off of the subject. The good thing was that Justin spent a lot of time listening to Fang, more than most anyway. He knew his way around the ancient cat, and he could get information on anything he wanted if he managed to word it correctly.

"What, those cave cats? Ah, they have a name for their club, if I could remember what it was . . ." Fang stared at his feet, as if they would magically tell him what he had forgotten.

"CavernClan?" Justin prompted.

"Yeah, 'at's the group! Fine bunch of cats, if I do say so m'self. Met one of 'em once. Pretty as all get out, she was. Her name was Sandstep, if I remember correctly, and she had fur whiter'en snow, and paws dipped in molten gold-"

"Justin! Come on, the twolegs want us in for the night!"

"Coming Cali!" Justin swiftly called to his mother. "Fang, could I come listen to the rest tomorrow?" Fang nodded. "O'course, mousy. You come right on back on the morrow and I'll finish it off."

"Thanks!" Justin called over his shoulder as he raced home. He had heard many of the greater stories about CavernClan from Duckkit (Mosskit had dutifully nudged him when he got something wrong, of course) but he figured he could get a better understanding for his friends' sudden departure from a closer source. _Well Fang,_ he thought. _Let's see what you've got for me. _

**And there's the end of Chapter 7! Welp, looks like next chapter we'll learn some about Sandstep and the generation of CavernClan-ers before Goosetalon and Mudfoot and Weaseltail and so on (and this is all given that Fang isn't quite as off his rocker as the general population makes him out to be . . .)**


	8. Fang and Sandstep

**Hgai again! I wrote this chapter while listening to 'Look Through My Eyes' by Phil Collins (it was in the movie Brother Bear). Which is a REALLY good song, you should listen to it . . .**

**Anyway, most of this chapter is going to be in a flashback mode. So after that . . . there, everything in italics will be Fang telling the story to Justin. **

_Chapter 8_

"Fang?" Justin called out as he trotted into the general area of Fang's box. "Fang?"

"Shoot, mousy, stop yellin' so loud! Yer gonna get rats in here again and I don't really look forward to fightin' 'em off again!"

"Sorry." Justin ducked his head. "But can you finish what you were telling me? About CavernClan?"

"O'course! Now, where was I . . . ah yes, Sandstep. With her snow-white fur and her paws of gold . . ."

_ Y'see, she was a warrior at that CavernClan place, but her favorite place to hunt was on the edge of their territory, not far from your fence really. She'd go on her own, sometimes with this cat called Sharpeyes with 'er, but not often. She liked to hunt on her own, y'see, she felt like she got more done that way. _

_ Now, once, she was huntin' around where I like to sit up on the fence, and that was way back when when m'twolegs were still around, so they lived down right near your house. And we met there, y'see. She was hunting a mouse, and I was hunting a mouse, and we bumped into each other. And she snarled at me and hissed at me and told me to back off her territory, but I knew she didn't mean a word of it, cause I was quite the cat back then, and I figured she'd want to see me. So the next day I hopped down on her side around the time she had been there the day before and she had come with that pal o' hers, Sharpeyes, and they hissed at me, and I backed off a bit, cause I figured they wouldn't want to get whooped by me in their own territory, bad rep y'know, so I waited a few days before I dropped in again._

_ And I said "Why, hullo there lil' lady cat, how's hunting?" And she snarled and told me to get out of CavernClan territory, and called me somethin' I won't repeat, and I said "Well, I'd get out of CavernClan territory if I knew what it was." And she said that CavernClan was a group of cats living in the caves beneath the marsh, and that they were the most powerful cats there were. _

_ And then of course she had to brag on about some friend of hers named . . . ah, what was it . . . oh! It was her friend Graysmoke, and Graysmoke had a mate named Leafflower, and Leafflower had had a couple of kits named . . . Goosekit and Darkkit, I think, and she bragged on how Darkkit was gonna be leader some day, and Goosekit would be the strongest warrior there was, so I had to tell her strait of course: I was the best warrior there was, and she snarled at me and called me somethin' else I won't repeat, of course this time it was much more creative and insulting cause it didn't quite sound so much like she was just repeating some old insult she had heard from somebody. Naw, that time it was good and almost a compliment cause she had taken the time to come up with something that good and insulting . . . well, I'm getting off aren't I? Alright, back on track._

_ And I started coming more, and she started telling me more, and we got t'be friends that way. She would come with some tid bit on how Darkkit and Goosekit had become Darkpaw and Goosepaw now that they were bein' trained, and how Darkkit was even being trained by the deputy, which is the cat that'll become leader when the leader there is is done being leader. _

_ And she came more often, nearly three times a day in fact! And I told her about my life and she told me about hers and then one day she just stopped comin'! Weirdest thing y'ever seen, it was. No explanation, no nothin'. But I swear, I seen 'er walkin' around, even today. Her paws got a bit darker, that's for sure. And she had some gray speckled cat with her once or twice. And I know she may look a bit younger than she had when I had been talkin' to her, but I bet its just imagination anyway. Has to be. What else coulda happened to her?_

**Okay, end chapter 8. Now, I feel kinda weird doing this cause I think a good writer should be able to make everything clear in the story when they write it, but I still feel like I need to clear something up because I don't want people asking about it and I'm not going to go into any deeper explanation Fang is Mosskit and Duckkit's grandfather. He had Mudfoot with Sandstep, then Mudfoot had Mosskit and Duckkit and Leopardkit with Goosetalon. See, that cat that Fang said he sees sometimes is Mudfoot (and sometimes Goosetalon). So he doesn't realize that he's fathered any kits. On another note, this might be my favorite chapter so far . . . I like the story telling part. Oh, and there's so little dialog because THIS HAPPENED A LONG TIME AGO. It bugs me in books when someone is telling a story and they can get EVERY DETAIL FROM MEMORY. I mean, seriously, how likely is that? Can you remember everything everyone said all day last week? Now make it like three years ago? * sigh *, I get bugged by such random crud . . .**


	9. Friends Aren't Always Family

**Hgai again! Welp, here we go! I've come to a realization: I think we should see Justin chapters for the kits last moon of kit-hood. Y'know why? Cause we know all kinds of crud about those three! We need more Justin information! I mean, we know he was the kits first 'friend', but were they his? Did they take him from someone else he would play with? Are you even still reading this dumb questions I've typed up or did you skip to the story? Okay, if you're reading the whole author's note write "I heart Justin!" in the first line of your review? Yes I have to keep putting question marks or the non-readers will get suspicious? Now, on with the story?**

**Oh, on a more serious note, I want to point out that Justin has no clue he just met Mosskit and Duckkit's grandfather. He had heard about Mudfoot, but just in name; he doesn't know what she looks like or what their father looks like or anything like that. **

**And, sorry if 'hell' offends anyone. Didn't mean to. **

**And, sorry, longest AN ever. _ And I'm not going to update quite so often (if you hadn't noticed already) because I actually have a life away from the computer getting in the way. I know, I know, dumb friends trying to talk to me. I'd off 'em if I could, but I don't think I should.**

**Thanks for the lovely reviews from Anidori-Isilee, katzsoa, and A fallen tree**

**Anidori-Isilee: She died. I mean, she had kits then she got old, so she never really had a chance to go back and talk to Fang anymore. **

_Chapter 9_

Justin slowly awoke from his sleep. He did his usual routine: get up, eat something, drink something, go look for someone to play with. As usual, Cali was busy, Puk was no where to be seen, and Fang was . . . being Fang.

Which, of course, meant he had to go to Shadow's. Now, don't get him wrong, Shadow is a nice cat, and his age, and she likes to play, but she can be a bit . . . odd, at times. As bad as Fang can be, in her own way.

"!" A black silouette dropped from a tree onto the unsuspecting Justin's back.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Justin screamed. If you ask him later he'll deny it, and say that he hissed with brave fury, but he totally screamed.

Which, of course, set the black silouette laughing as though she had just cracked the greatest joke the world had ever heard.

"Shadow! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Justin panted, his tail held down, his eyes wide, his ears pinned back.

"You totally never saw me comin' muddy-feet!" She always called him that. She had always taunted him about his dark paws, asking him if he forgot to bathe after his last trek through the marsh, or if he was becoming a wild cat like those cave dwellers.

"They eat bones, y'know!" She had warned him then. Of course he had believed her, thinking of the marsh dwellers as giant, evil cats with huge claws like daggers and fangs like dog teeth. Which made it somewhat shocking when he learned the origin of Mosskit and Duckkit.

"Well, that's what happens when you hide in trees and jump on people who are watching where they step," he panted.

"True enough," Shadow allowed. "Doesn't matter now, does it?" Justin sighed. Shadow took 'live for the moment' to a level the world didn't know existed. "So, we off to Bane's house, or not?" She trotted off before he could respond, and he sighed with a small smile. No where to go but forward.

"BANE!" Shadow yowled as loud as she could until the cat came out. Now, when most people hear the name 'Bane', they figure he's some giant tiger-like cat with huge claws that's hell-bent on taking over the world. But that wasn't exactly what they received.

"H-H-Hey S-Shadow, hi J-Justin." Bane was a tiny grey kitten, almost sick-looking, with fluffy grey fur. You could mistake him for a little storm cloud come down to the ground if you didn't know him. And on top of that, he stuttered.

"Mornin' Cloudy, wanna come to the bricks with us?" _She never mentioned the bricks . . . _Justin thought to himself. Still, wasn't that surprising. She did that a lot.

"S-Sure. Now?" Shadow nodded and Bane trotted after them on short, weak legs. The bricks wasn't quite what you'd imagine. It wasn't so much a bunch of bricks, more of a place with brick walls. It was an old abandoned building in the middle of a quiet neighborhood in the middle of the town. It was just abandoned, no one knew why at first, but then part of the roof got ripped off and squirrels and raccoons started getting inside and the city condemned it. But on the inside is was pristine, aside from the creatures now inhabiting it. One of which was ready to greet them at the doorway.

"You got anything t'eat? A cat comes in a mouse comes in, catch the drift?"

"Sorry Scar, we'll bring more next time." Shadow had just pushed her way past the self-proclaimed housekeeper, while Bane struggled to keep up and Justin paused to talk to her. Scar was a ratty-furred long-haired dark grey she-cat. Her fur hung in clumps off of her aging body, and she was thin enough that if you cut her fur shorter you could count her bones. She had taken to watching over the Bricks when she had become to weak to hunt for herself. Justin would sometimes bring her some of his food, or if he managed to actually catch something live, bring it to her as well.

"Alright, but just cause you bring me extra sometimes. You three have fun, and watch out for the basement; a raccoon moved in and 'e likes 'is space." Justin nodded at the warning and hurried to join his friends.

**Okay, I know that's a crummy ending, but you can hear about their play time next chapter, and you waited long enough for this one. Okay, so Fang, Shadow, Bane, Scar, Cali, Puk, and, of course, Justin are pretty much the only Twolegplace cats you're gonna hear about. I might make a reference to another one at some point, just someone mentioning something to someone else, but Twolegplace cats are never really going to have a huge impact on CavernClan's lives, like Scourge did. If I'm ever going to bring in a big bad group in this, it'll be some group of loners that came from somewhere else. And since I was talking to someone and they said "You know Bane means bad? That's why every time someone is named Bane they're a bad guy." and I thought "Well huh, I'm gonna have to do something about that." So for anyone who got a chill at tiny Bane, he's not gonna be the next Scourge. If he does start to get a huge role, then he's going to do something really big and important and GOOD GUY, like die to save Mosskit or something like that (not necessarily that, but something big and important). So, yup. Have a nice night. **

**And I'm REALLY sorry most of this is AN, but like I said, school, social life, lack of inspiration . . . any good ideas would be appreciated actually. Feel free t'let m'know!**


	10. Oh The Stories To Tell

**I s'pose this chapter is mostly dialog, but I still think it's alright. **

**Fun Fact: Justin's original design was white with black paws, black tail tip, black muzzle, and black ears. Sound familiar? Aside from the speckles on her back, his design was the exact reverse of Mosskit's. After noticing this, I changed it to just the paws. And, I didn't notice this until the third chapter or so, he does have almost the same markings as Mudfoot, except hers are brown and his are black. I would just like to clarify that they are NOT RELATED. Just a coincidence. (And yeah, I bet if you go back far enough there's probably some common blood, but that's true for anybody, so don't bother pointing it out). **

**Another thing. I wanna apologize for a long wait for short chapters. :( I'm trying to make them longer, I really am, but I think I'm failing. **

**And, I would like to hear you're opinions on how many more Justin chapters until we get back to Mosskit and Duckkit (of course, we have to keep in mind that the next Mosskit and Duckkit chapter is going to be their apprentice ceremony. I'd also like to hear some suggestions for who Duckkit and Leopardkit's mentors should be! I already know who's going to train Mosskit. :3).**

**Thanks for the lovely reviews from Anidori-Isilee, katzsoa,**

**katzsoa: Well, I didn't think of Scar quite like that at the moment. ^-^' I think Scar isn't so much of a bad guy name, but more of a moody, not-quite-a-good-guy-but-not-completely-evil name. I'm not saying that that's what every character who's name is Scar is like, just that that's how I see the name. **

**A fallen tree: Last time I did a multi-chap people said I was moving too fast, so I was trying to slow it down a bit in this one. I'm trying to make it interesting but not shoving the plot forward like it's tied to a train. XD Sorry if it's too slow for ya, I'll try to add some excitement this chapter. ^-^'**

_Chapter 10_

"Okay, we're gonna play hide-and-seek. Who wants to search first?" Shadow had placed herself on a somewhat fancy looking chair, declaring herself in charge.

"I'll look first." Justin liked just walking around and looking at things; he had an eye for detail, and he new the Bricks like he knew his own feet.

"Cool! Come on Bane, we gotta hide!" Justin hopped onto the chair and turned around, facing the back of it and hiding his face in his paws while he counted loudly.

"One . . . two . . . three . . ." Shadow could hear Justin's counting from across the house.

"Alright Bane, here's the plan. We're going to hide together." Bane cocked his head in confusion. "Okay, you're gonna hide up front, and I'm gonna hide behind you. Then, when Justin finds you, he won't think to look for me there!"

"Oh, okay. Where should we hide?"

"Basement!"

"But it's dark in there, we won't be able to see . . ."

"Neither will Justin!" And with that, the two cats descended the stairs and searched for their hiding place.

"Blast it, where are they?" Justin had searched the house high and low, not seeing a single sign of his companions.

"Lost something?" Scar mrowed from her post at the doorway.

"Some-ONE. I can't find Bane and Shadow."

"Hm. Well, maybe they left." Justin mulled that thought over in his head. He wouldn't be surprised if Shadow would do that ("Aw, doesn't matter much now, does it? Over and done with!") and she would definitely drag Bane along if she did.

"Good point. I'll see if they went home." He slipped out of the doorway and trotted away from the Bricks.

Leaving Bane and Shadow to celebrate their victory. In the dark. In a small cramped spaced.

"Heh heh heh, we sure fooled 'im didn' we?" Shadow cackled like a witch-cat from behind Bane.

"I alm-most w-wish he would j-j-just f-find us. It's c-cramped in here."

"Oh, deal with it, y'wimp. Not like anything's gonna get us." At which point the raccoon currently residing in the basement decided to make a sound not entirely unlike the painful, dying screams of a puppy.

So Shadow and Bane scrambled over each other in a rushed frenzy (D***IT BANE! MOVE FASTER OR GET OUT OF THE WAY!) and dashed up the stairs. If you ask them later, they'll say they fought tooth and claw against the giant, savage beast, and barely escaped unscathed.

They didn't spare a moment to speak to Scar on their way out, and rounded the corner towards home when they bumped into Justin.

Literally.

Well, a better word would be crashed.

"Ah! Gosh Shadow, slow down sometimes!"

"It's not MY fault you were standing where I was running! Next time get out of the way!"

"How am I supposed to know where you're running?"

At this point they had sorted themselves out and were sitting together. "I don't know, figure it out!" And then Bane stuttered something about Shadow planning her walking routes in advance, but they didn't quite hear him, because the absolute absurdity of what Shadow had said caught up with her, and she was laughing, and she was just the kind of person that when she starts laughing the rest of the world just has to join in.

**Okay, I'm not completely happy with the ending, but I can't think of a way to make it any better. Aaaaaaaaaaaand that's all I have on this chapter (except the stuff I put up there, on second thought some of that should be down here. . . . I should change that . . . nah). **


	11. Memories of a Past Life

**Okay, I can't remember if I've had the Twolegplace cats refer to humans as anything yet. So for the sake of this chapter, they're going to also call them Twolegs. Correct me if I'm wrong, but know that I'm not going to correct it. XD**

**Thanks for the lovely review from Anidori-Isilee!**

_Chapter 11_

Justin liked to remember things. He didn't like to think that he should forget something, because if he couldn't remember then how could he know it was real? So he did his best to remember. He kept things: keepsakes from times in his life he wanted to make sure he remember. He had a collar from his friend Speckle; her Twolegs had taken her away. He had a toy mouse that his father had given him once. Back before he was a loner, he had Twolegs too. Times were simpler then, and he liked to think, if things went correctly, that they could have those times again. But the most important keepsake he had, the one that meant the most, was a feather. Just a blackish gray feather, from some random bird. It was ruffled and messy, some of it chewed and it was bent at the tip. He hid it under his bed, otherwise his mother would take it, thinking it was a dirty thing that had gotten caught in his fur. But it was much more than that, at least to him.

He remembered when he and his friends found it. They had been playing tag, then it landed on Mosskit's nose. She had jumped backwards, not knowing what it was at first, and then when they found out she had fled from a feather they had teased her and chased her with it, but it was all in good fun, and she had run away from it. But with her quick speed and sharp eyes it wasn't long until she had jumped out at them with a new feather, and chased them with it. It took Justin a moment to find his own feather to chase with (Duckkit had taken the first one, the one that was now under his bed) but he found it and he remembered it as one of the last happy days. And occasionally he would get it out and go in the yard and chase the birds; pretend the pidgeons were Duckkit and the robins were Mosskit, and chase them and run into their groups and watched them fly away. But they always came back, there wasn't a doubt about it. And then he would chase them again and lie in wait, and they were some of the more fun games he played, and he would play them somewhat often.

"Jus-stin?" Justin looked up to see Bane perched on his fence.

"Oh, hey Bane." Justin sat back, dropping his feather.

"W-What're you doing?" Bane cocked his head curiously.

"I was just playing with the birds." He looked up, watching the birds fly away.

"Oh." Bane sat back on his haunches, looking around. He watched the birds fly and land, and watched bugs fly from blades of grass. Justin looked at him and realized something. Bane was lonely too. Bane hadn't lost anyone, but he never knew his parents and his owners were almost never home. His only friends were Justin and Shadow, and Shadow was almost always off stalking something or chasing someone. He smiled as he realized they had something very important in common: no one to play with.

"Would you like to play with me? It's simple, it's just like tag with feathers." Bane smiled. "S-Sure! I'll find another feather!"

"Do I not get to join in?" Justin looked up to see Shadow up in the tree. He grinned; three of them once again, back together.

"Find your feather and you're in." And Bane found a feather and Shadow found a feather, and Justin taught them how to play and they spent the rest of the day together, and Justin realized that no matter how much he would miss Mosskit and Duckkit and even Speckle, he would always have someone. Bane and Shadow would be there for a long time yet, and when they left new cats would come, and until then he could keep Scar company or listen to Fang's stories.

In a different way, he had a clan of his own.

**Okay, cool, that was some insight to Justin personality. Not much to say on this.**

**But I do think I should mention that I sketched Mosskit and Duckkit together (just a headshot, though) and put it up on deviantart if you want to take a look: ****http:/ swift-fire . deviantart **** . com/art/Duckkit-and-Mosskit-178818369**


	12. Good Guy

**I don't know how you're still reading this. I don't MEAN to not update, I'm just stuck. I can't go on until I know who Duckkit and Leopardkit's mentors will be, and I really have no clue. And it took me long enough to drum this up, so let's hope I can come up with something for when they become apprenticed. And, just so y'know, Justin and the kits aren't going to run into eachother again until well into warriorship. **

**Also: They aren't with the four main clans, and they never were, but they are aware of their existence, and probably some of them came from the four clans. And that's how the Scourge story came along. **

**And now for something completely different. (Anyone who understands the reference gets a cookie! Heck, maybe even an OC in the story . . .)**

_Chapter _

My name is Bane. I'm small, and slow, and I stutter. I have fluffy gray fur to the point where I look like a little patch of fog. I don't know why my name is Bane. My parents had an odd sense of humor, I suppose. I've talked to cats that have told stories of a tiny cat named Scourge who did bad things. He took over a bunch of cats and invaded another group. He killed more than you could count, and he destroyed twice as many lives.

I heard that story when I was with my friends, Shadow and Justin. They were nice; they told me I wasn't like that, that it could never happen to me. But I could tell, I could see it behind their eyes. They were scared. But I won't ever do any of that. I'm a good guy, I really am.

They didn't believe me when I told them. I could tell, they were wary. They're nice, though, and they'll still come and talk to me. Justin especially; he wouldn't ditch me just because I might not be as good as I seem. He'll still talk to me, he'll still play with me. He might be doing it just to make sure I don't turn sides, but at least he's doing it.

Shadow will come too. I'm not sure why; maybe she likes me, maybe she just wants a pawn for her board. I don't know now, and I'm not sure I ever will. But at least she's there. Even if she thought I was bad, I know she'd come.

But they won't last forever. I've seen it; my twolegs bring home friends that suddenly disappear without a trace. If it happens to twolegs it can happen to cats.

And I don't care. Even if I loose Shadow and Justin and Scar leaves and Fang dies, I won't care. Because no matter what anyone does, no matter what they will do, I won't change. It'll hurt, of course it will, and I may be bitter at first but I'll get better.

Because I'm a good guy. I know I am. I'm not evil, I'm not bad, I'm not anything like Scourge . . .

_ . . . right? . . ._

**So, after a super long time with no update, I finally mange to chew up and spit out this super-short bit of thought on Bane. I did it in a style I usually don't use, but still, twas fun. **

_**I REALLY need your guy's opinion on this; I can't update until I get it:**_

**For the next chapter, should I:**

**A) Time skip to Mosskit, Duckkit, and Leopardkit being warriors**

**B) Go to the apprentice ceremony with Mosskit, Duckkit, and Leopardkit, and if so I NEED to know who Duckkit and Leopardkit's mentors should be (I know who's gonna train Mosskit)**

**Continue on with the crummy Twolegplace chapters that are getting more and more desperate because they're more for filler to prove I'm still alive than anything else**

**Alright? So I NEED this information, and until I get it you'll just get more C. I'm not trying to do a ransom or anything, but I'm running out of plotlines for twolegplace chapters and this information is going to turn critical in the continuation of Silent Voice!**


End file.
